Keeping Your Distance
by carolinagirl919
Summary: A one-shot based on End Game (Season 3 Episode 8). What would have happened if Joss was home when John went looking for her after discovering she was the one who started the war between HR and the Russians. What would that conversation have been like? Would he have let her go? Read more to find out.


Keeping Your Distance

Joss knew her window of time was shrinking as she packed a small suitcase with clothes to last about a week. She'd just started a war between the Russian mafia and HR, but the last series of moves she needed to make was risky. After all this was over and the two sets eliminated themselves, she would be able to complete her mission and arrest Alonzo Quinn. She would finally be able to cut the monster that is HR off at the head and bring the rest of them to justice.

She studied her board once more to make sure there wasn't a detail she missed. She knew that Quinn would be in his office, so she needed to get there to set up a frame job to further pit HR against the Russians. _An assassination attempt should be enough to get the ball rolling_, she mused. She checked the duffle bag of weaponry that Shaw appropriated for her and saw the rifle she would need to finish this morning's job.

Joss continued to pack her bags when she heard her front door open and slam shut downstairs. Who would be bold enough to come through her front door? Taylor had been staying with Paul for the past couple months as things began to escalate with the HR takedown. She immediately reached for the gun in her holster, drew it, and aimed towards her bedroom door, waiting for the assailant to come in.

"Joss!" She heard a voice shout towards her room from the bottom of the stairs. It was a familiar voice, but one she hadn't heard in this way. Not only was he loudly calling out for her, his voice was filled with concern, panic, and anger.

_John,_ she thought to herself. She put the gun back in the holster and looked down at the bag of weapons resting on the floor in front of her evidence board she usually had hidden away in the back of her closet. She heard his footsteps moving closer as he climbed the stairs. _Shit. I'm not gonna have time to_...

John barged in through the door with his gun ready to neutralize any threat. He immediately lowered his sidearm and placed it in the back of his waistband when he found Joss standing in front of her bed with an open suitcase filled with clothes. He took a look around and noticed her HR board and saw a bag of weapons sitting below it.

"Going somewhere, Joss?" He couldn't keep the anger out of his voice as he glared at her, knowing what she was up to and whatever else it was that she was planning to do would be dangerous.

"I thought you promised to keep your distance, John. You've got a funny way of showing it," she said in annoyance as she glared at him.

He held his stare, but softened his tone. "That was before you decided to start a war between the Russians and HR. I'm not letting you do this alone, Joss." He walked toward the board to take a closer look and noticed Quinn's picture at the top of the hierarchy. "It looks like you've figured it out. If you have what you need." He turned back to face her and walked into her personal space, needing to be close to her as his adrenaline finally wore down. "Why are you doing this?"

"John, this is something I've been planning for a while. You've seen how many good cops have died because of them. You know why they can't get away with this."

"Take it from me, revenge isn't the answer. Whatever it is you're planning, please… just let me help you," he implored as he watched her intensely, moving even closer to her.

She sighed and closed her eyes, unable to keep eye contact, avoiding what she saw in his eyes. She looked down, slowly opened her eyes, and looked at the floor. "You once asked me to trust you… to do what needed to be done." She looked up to meet his eyes. "Now I'm asking the same of you. I need you to trust me to do what needs to be done. And I need to do this alone."

Her brown eyes were pleading with him to understand, to trust her and let go. He knew she was right. He knew what she meant. She needed him to trust her to do what was right and not what was based in vengeance. Just like when she gave him her trust to handle Jennings when she didn't have to, when she didn't even know him.

He trusted her. He trusted her to do the right thing, he trusted her to be there for him. He even trusted her with his heart even though she didn't know she had it. And that was the problem here. He knew she was capable─ more than capable─ to handle this alone. It's just that he couldn't lose her like this. Not when he could help her. Not when he had the opportunity to be there and keep her from danger. If one thing went wrong…

She made a move to walk around him and without thinking he grabbed her by the waist to stop her. He pulled her closer to him and now their bodies were touching. It probably wasn't the wisest thing to do at the moment, but he wanted to be closer to her. He wanted to touch her, feel her body against his. "Joss…"

The look in his eyes was intense and she was mesmerized by it. She couldn't look away if she wanted to. He said so much without saying anything at all. She placed her hands on his chest and gently patted him. "John, I─"

"I can't lose you, Joss," he interrupted. He no longer wanted to hear what it was that she had to say. His main concern was to stop her and to stay with her. He lowered his head so that his forehead touched hers, keeping eye contact with her.

It was too much for her to take. He had made his feelings known and now he was trying to do everything to stop her. If she stayed like this with him a second longer, neither one of them would be leaving this room. She gently pushed him back and made another attempt to get around him so that she could close her suitcase and grab the bag of weapons on the floor. She was losing time and if she didn't get to her next destination, her very dangerous plans would fall through. She stepped back to release herself from his grip on her waist, but he held her tighter. "Don't…"

"John, I need to do this. I'm losing time. Please, just trust me. I'll be fine. Like I promised you before, if I need help… you'll be my first call."

He slowly released the grip on her waist and let her go. She walked around him to close her suitcase and picked it up from the bed. She also grabbed the duffel bag on the floor. She moved in silence and knew he was watching her every move. He took the duffel bag from her and they both walked down the stairs in silence, both of them deep in thought.

They walked out of the back door and to her car down the block. He opened the back door on the driver's side and placed her bag in the back seat. She placed her suitcase in her trunk, closed it and walked around to open the door on the driver's side. He beat her to the punch and held the door open for her, continuing to look at her intensely. She went to settle into the driver's seat but he grabbed her again, this time by her arm to stop her motion.

She looked up at him and hated the look she saw in his eyes. He looked at her as if he was about to lose the one person he cared about the most. While she was sure that her plan would work, she knew that there were risks. A lot of risks. She looked up and down the street to see if anyone was around or if they were being watched. It was easy for the two of them to block out everything and everyone around them and get lost in each other. She took a deep breath and reached up to touch his face. It was a gesture that was intimate. It was personal. But at this point they were beyond boundaries.

"I'll be fine, John. I promise I'll call you when I need you. Please… let me go. I need to do this. _Trust_ me," she pleaded.

He didn't say anything. He simply nodded his head and released her arm. She slid her hand away from his face and got inside the car. He closed the door behind her and watched as she started the car and drove away.


End file.
